PITTSBURGH — On the final play of the game, Ben Roethlisberger’s pass to tight end Matt Spaeth fell out of bounds along the left side of the end zone as the Jets’ Marquice Cole had him covered well.

Aliquippa native and Pro Bowl Jets cornerback Darelle Revis saw the play from the other side of the end zone. Just yards from Pittsburgh’s three rivers, Revis Island was usually away from the ball all afternoon as Pittsburgh seemed to make a conscious effort not to throw near him.

“I was on the opposite side of the field that play,” said Revis. “Teams usually game plan to put me in certain situations. I just do my job and play the plays out.”

Although Revis did not see many passes thrown his direction, he did manage to knock away one. Much of the game, he was matched against Hines Ward and the veteran wide receiver, probably destined for the Hall of Fame, was thrown to three times. He caught two for 34 yards.

Revis didn’t spend his time at Heinz Field just watching the game, although he did buy 30 tickets for family and friends. He spent most of the game as the Jets’ leading tackler with seven tackles, six solo. On the Steelers’ final drive, he was passed by Drew Coleman, who finished with 10.

“Those are linebacker numbers,” Revis laughed as he heard about his stats. “I just do what I have to do and if that’s making tackles, that’s what I do. I think it goes back to where I came from, growing up around here. You do what you have to do.”

There was a gaggle of reporters clamoring around Revis in his first return to Heinz Field. He fielded questions about Pitt firing his former coach Dave Wannstedt and hiring former Miami (Ohio) coach Mike Haywood.
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He stayed out of the middle of any controversy about the Pitt coaching situation but talked readily about his Jets team. He did admit, though, that it was different playing against the Steelers at his former home field.

“It was weird coming out the different tunnel,” Revis said with a smile. “I had never thought about playing here against the Steelers.

“It’s tough to be a visiting player here. The fans hate you, they’re waving their Terrible Towels, wearing black and gold. I know a lot of the Steelers, too.

“It’s not personal, there are no hard feelings. I have a job to do and this was a must-win for us. We couldn’t leave this building without a win. We just couldn’t.”

Now, both Pittsburgh and New York have 10-4 records and are in control of their own destinies. With the tie-breaker in hand, Pittsburgh will still be the division champion by winning out. The Jets are only in the running for the wild-card spot because New England has the division clinched.

“It’s a very satisfying win,” Revis said. “We knew it was going to be a physical game and when you get late in the season, you have to win these kind of games.

“We had to prepare most for Big Ben. He does such a great job extending plays and we’ve been preaching all week to the guys to latch on to the receivers and stay with them. When we had to we made the plays.”